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Q & A: Superintendent Snell Discusses Camas School Reopening Plans

Camas Superintendent, Dr, Jeff Snell provides to frequently asked questions regarding school reopening for the 2020-21 school season. He said this week there will be an opportunity to engage in a question and answer session about Camas Connect Academy, the Camas School District (CSD) full online option.  CSD recommends the Camas Connect Academy only for families that do not have a desire to return to on-campus learning at any point during the school year.  For all others, CSD recommends starting the school year remotely and then transitioning towards more on-campus learning during the year.

So how do we start school? 
During remote learning, we will keep the same school hours.  This provides a consistent structure for students and families and defines the workday for staff.  Schools will be providing orientations to help staff and families partner together in support of students. 

Does full remote learning mean my student will be on Zoom for more than six hours per day?
No, the State Board of Education has provided some flexibility in how we meet our yearly instructional hour requirements, and sitting in front of a screen all day long is not a best practice for students.

We designed our scheduling framework to have a combination of synchronous (live) and asynchronous (recorded) learning with brain/movement breaks for students. Our remote learning schedule is aligned to our full hybrid schedule to help transition to more on-campus time when community health indicators improve. In our full, hybrid learning delivery model, students will receive at least two days of on-campus, live instruction. We’ve included a similar expectation in our remote learning schedule. The equivalent of at least 2 days of “live”, synchronous instruction will be distributed across the week. Other learning time will be asynchronous instruction from our teachers with specific learning tasks for students to complete with support. This allows for some flexibility for students and families when they access this instruction. Each school will develop a schedule that supports students and helps families at home. Prior to each week, teachers will post the week-ahead schedule that includes opportunities for student support and communication with families.

Will daily student attendance be taken?
Yes, attendance will be taken for both synchronous and asynchronous learning sessions. 

Acorn
www.clarkcountyrelocations.com

Will this look different than it did in the spring?
Yes, our staff are committed to our students and have been planning based on the experiences from the spring.  Staff training this summer includes social and emotional learning/wellness, design for remote learning, learning management and communication tools, video creation, synchronous interaction, and priority learning standards. As you know, we have an amazing staff who were put into a very challenging situation last spring.  They want to create an engaging learning experience for your student this fall!

What if I need emergency childcare as we transition back to on-campus learning? 
We recognize that each family is in a unique situation and may need support.  We are trying to develop options for families in these situations.  Please contact us using this LINK. 

What if my family relies on school breakfast and/or lunch services?
We will develop a similar process to how we provided these meals in the spring during remote learning.  

When will we start phasing into on-campus instruction?
Decision Tree K12 Schools provides a framework that puts regions into COVID-19 activity levels using several indicators. One of those indicators is the rate of cases per 100,000 people. The rate divides COVID-19 activity into three levels: HIGH >75, MODERATE between 25-75, and LOW <25.  The most recent rate of cases per 100,000 in Clark County was 74.3.  Even though we are on the upper limit of MODERATE we are trending in a better direction considering our previous two rates were 99.7 and 96.4 (The Columbian, 8/5/2020, Clark County at ‘moderate risk’ for school reopenings).  Your effort and the efforts of our community of following the Safe Start Washington guidelines are starting to pay off so thank you!  Please help keep lowering the rate by socially distancing, wearing your mask, and washing your hands.  

As our rate per 100,000 lowers, we will bring students on campus in small groups starting with our youngest students and those with specific support needs.  We will then add more small groups of students easing our way towards a full hybrid model of at least two days of on-campus learning for each student.

I have greatly appreciated your feedback and patience during this journey to our first day of school.  

Jeff Snell, Superintendent

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COVID-19: Inslee Issues Guidance for Long-Term Care Facilities, Fitness Businesses

This week, Gov. Inslee and state health officials announced updated COVID-19 guidance for long-term care facilities and fitness businesses.

Beginning Aug. 12, long-term care facilities will be able to resume in-person visits, with restrictions. The state has established a phased approach with criteria for long-term care facilities to safely allow visitors, provide trips for residents outside the facility and group activities, among other things.

  • Facilities in Phase 1:
    • Indoor visits are limited to compassionate care situations. Compassionate care situations include end-of-life circumstances and for psycho-social needs. Any such visit must follow strict safety protocol.
    • Outdoor visits are allowed and limited to two visitors per resident per visit. These visits must include masking, social distancing, and appropriate hygiene.
    • Facilities may invite “window visits” at their discretion with safety protocol in place.
    • Remote visitation must be facilitated in all Phases.
  • Facilities in Phase 2:
    • Indoor visits are limited to compassionate care situations. Compassionate care situations include end-of-life circumstances and for psycho-social needs. Any such visit must follow strict safety protocol.
    • Outdoor visits are allowed. These visits must include masking, social distancing, and appropriate hygiene.
    • Facilities may invite “window visits” at their discretion with safety protocol in place.
    • Remote visitation must be facilitated in all Phases.
    • A designated “essential support person” may visit a resident once per day if the resident is unable to participate in outdoor visits and if remote visitation technology is unavailable.
  • Facilities in Phase 3:
    • Indoor visits are generally permitted, with limitations. Facilities will establish protocol for visitor hours, visitor limits, and safety precautions. Preference should be given to outdoor visits.
    • Outdoor visits are allowed and are subject to facility safety protocol.
    • Remote visitation must be facilitated in all Phases.
  • Facilities in Phase 4:
    • Regular visitation resumes.

Fitness Guidelines

Fitness guidelines were also updated this week, allowing fitness and sports training other than group fitness classes

Changes in August 3 update:

  • Removing the restriction on independent fitness training by allowing fitness and sports training other than group fitness classes.
  • Increasing the distancing requirement while exercising indoors from six feet to 300 square feet per person, except while practicing certain team sports. For large facilities, occupancy is limited to 25 percent of the facility’s occupancy limit, as determined by the fire code. Occupancy and distancing requirements should be determined and posted for every room in the facility.
  • Requiring all patrons to wear face coverings when inside indoor fitness facilities, except while engaged in strenuous exercise. Patrons who remove their cloth facial coverings to exercise must wear them at all other times, including immediately before and immediately after exercise.
  • Clarifying the use of indoor team sports facilities for practice and limited competition with no spectators.
  • Harmonizing Phase 2 and 3 guidance to allow some limited indoor fitness and training activities in all areas of the state.
  • Clarifying that outdoors locations for fitness training and team sports are preferred to indoors locations and should be utilized to the greatest extent possible. Outdoor temporary structures may be used. Outdoor temporary structures should have no more than two walls to provide appropriate ventilation.
Inslee
www.champpizza.com

Clark County COVID-19 Update

Clark County Public Health issued a new update today:

Another 13 people have tested positive for COVID-19. However, during routine quality control checks of our data, we removed 12 cases from our total due to duplications and cases being transferred to other counties (the county of residence).

With those changes, the total number of Clark County residents who have tested positive to date is 1992.

Another Clark County resident has died – a man in his 80s with undetermined underlying conditions. To date, 41 Clark County residents have died.

Currently, 13 COVID-19 patients and four persons under investigation (awaiting test results) for COVID-19 are hospitalized.

COVID-19
Long-Term Care Facilities Visitation.
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Politics 2020: Updated Washington, Clark County Primary Election Results

Vancouver, WA — The Clark County Elections Office provided an update to the August 4, 2020 Primary and Special Elections Results. Here’s a breakdown of many of the races, which provides a preview of the Fall campaign.

  • Number of precincts (county wide): 314
  • Number of registered voters: 303,702
  • Total ballots counted: 112,549
  • Estimated ballots left to count: 37,000
  • Voter turnout: 37.06%

Congressional District 3 U.S. Representative Race (full district tally)

  • Carolyn Long (Democrat): 70,322 votes; 40.85%
  • Jaime Herrera Beutler (Republican): 94,798 votes; 55.07%

Governor’s Race (statewide tally)

  • Jay Inslee (Democrat): 744,977 votes; 51.26%
  • Loren Culp (Republican): 245,642 votes; 16.93%
  • Tim Eyman (Republican): 100,883 votes; 6.95%

Lt. Governor 

  • Denny Heck (Democrat): 380,453 votes; 27.23%
  • Mark Liias (Democrat): 234,908 votes; 16.81%

Secretary of State

  • Kim Wyman (Republican): 57,062 votes; 52.14%
  • Gael Tarleton (Democrat): 46,075 votes; 42.1%

Washington State Treasurer

  • Duane Davidson (Republican): 55,387 votes; 51.02%
  • Mike Pellicciotti (Democrat): 53,048 votes; 48.86%
Mesa
www.lilyatelier.com

Legislative District 17 State Senator

  • Daniel Smith (Democrat): 14,901 votes; 45.16%
  • Lynda Wilson (Republican): 18,039 votes; 54.67%

Legislative District 17 State Representative, Position 1

  • Tanisha Harris (Democrat): 15,617 votes; 47.19%
  • Vicki Kraft (Republican): 17,440 votes; 52.7%

Legislative District 17 State Representative, Position 2

  • Paul Harris (Republican): 18,181 votes; 65.94%
  • Bryan White (Republican): 7,864 votes; 28.52%

Legislative District 18 State Senator

  • John Ley (Republican): 11,221 votes; 28.24%
  • Ann Rivers (Republican): 12,800 votes; 32.21%
  • Rick Bell (Democrat): 15,680 votes; 39.46%

Legislative District 18 State Representative, Position 1

  • Brandon Vick (Republican): 23,561 votes; 59.67%
  • Kassandra Bessert (Democrat): 15,865 votes; 40.18%

Legislative District 18 State Representative, Position 2

  • Donna Sinclair (Democrat):17,589 votes; 44.39%
  • Larry Hoff (Republican): 21,972 votes; 55.46%

Legislative District 49 State Senator

  • Annette Cleveland (Democrat): 19,078 votes; 59.25%
  • Rey Reynolds (Republican): 13,070 votes; 40.6%

County Councilor District 3

  • Jesse James (Democrat): 7,456 votes; 33.52%
  • John Blom (No Party): 4,990 votes; 22.43%
  • Karen Bowerman (Republican): 9,745 votes; 43.81%

County Councilor District 4

  • Gary Medvigy (Republican): 17,695 votes; 59.62%
  • Matt Little (Independent): 11,834 votes; 39.87%
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Camas, County, State Reps Forming Alliance to Improve Water Quality at Lacamas Lake

Camas, WA — After generations of battling water quality issues at Lacamas Lake — and now Fallen Leaf Lake — city leaders, county officials, and state representatives are now beginning to form an alliance to tackle severe environmental issues affecting the popular recreation areas.

Citing multiple occurrences of toxic algae in both lakes, which make them unfit for recreation, Camas City Council member Steve Hogan said he, Mayor Barry McDonnell, and Camas Public Works Director, Steve Wall, are in the process of getting an inter-local agreement between the city and Clark County. 

“We decided it was time to clean this lake up,” said Hogan, “and we have the full support of the Mayor and city leaders. We have Temple Lentz and Gary Medvigy on Clark County Council on board, plus Senator Ann Rivers, and state representatives Larry Hoff and Brandon Vick. We asked our state representatives if there’s commitment from them to move through the agencies: Department of Ecology, Department of Fish and Wildlife, Department of Natural Resources, and Department of Agriculture. They said yes.”

The pollution sources that likely contribute to the algae blooms include the following:

  • Storm water facilities feeding into the lake 
  • Lacamas Shores bio-filter, which critics say hasn’t been properly maintained by their Home Owner’s Association
  • Dairy farm/cattle runoff
  • And, historical neglect. From 1883-1889, the Camas forest was logged before we became a state, and there were no protections, and so much drained into the lake over the decades.

“This isn’t going to be a quick fix,” said Hogan. “We want this cleanup to be part of a 20-year strategy. Fallen Leaf Lake and Lacamas Lake have separate issues, but readings at Lacamas Shores have 122 storm pumps leading into it, which go into the lake.”

Hogan said they want a system of testing that goes upstream to see which ponds are contributing to the toxic algae in the lakes. In the process, said Hogan, the county suggested re-designating Lacamas Lake as a recreational lake, which the Camas City Council did in February. It had been previously designated as an industrial lake.

“Today’s story has to deal with algae, but we have to improve the lake for the long run,” said Hogan. “We need to get rid of the dead zone in the lake, where nothing can live. There’s too much debris at the bottom of the lake, which is a major contributor to the pollution. We have to deal with this. We’ve gotten a lot of help from Judit Lorenz, Council member Ellen Burton, and Council member Bonnie Carter. Every council member is very psyched up about it.”

Lake
www.artfuljuxtaposition.com

The next action items are working with Clark County Public Works, since they’ve been observing lake water quality issues. 

“We are in the process of getting this inter-local agreement between Camas and Clark County,” said Wall. “We believe there are short-term things we can do to improve the water quality, but there are many long-term objectives, as well.”

In the short term, said Wall, “we have to educate citizens about knowing when and how to fertilize lawns, and what goes into storm drains, and we need to work with HOA’s so they can fulfill their responsibilities. There are lots of things we can do.”

These developments are welcome news to Lacamas Shores resident, Steve Bang, who has been advocating for cleaning up his neighborhood bio-filter, which many think is a wetland.

“The Lacamas Shores HOA hasn’t properly maintained the bio-filter since 1993,” said Bang. “The bio-filter originally had natural plants that absorbed toxins before they went into the lake. The HOA was supposed to clear those toxic plants on a regular basis to keep the bio-filter operating properly. They’ve neglected to do that, and I’ve been trying to get the city to apply pressure on our HOA to live up to their responsibilities.”

Bang thinks reclaiming the bio-filter to its original state will resolve much of of the lake’s toxic algae issues. He’s been trying to get his HOA to resolve the issue on their own, and lately he’s been pressuring the city to assist in the efforts.

“We can fix major problems right now,” said Bang. “We just have to act. If the city can pressure our HOA to do their job, it doesn’t have to be a part of the inter-local agreement. And, getting this bio-filter fixed won’t cost the taxpayer any money. We don’t have to wait.”

Bang said the Ecology Department does not allow wetlands and bio-filters to co-mingle and that the restoration will be done according to Ecology’s best practices manual. You can learn more about the Lacamas Shores bio-filter at www.Lacamasshoresbiofilter.org

Camas leaders are looking to the state to apply pressure on agencies to do their part. 

“Working with the multiple agencies has been like herding cats, and we hope to get past the red tape,” said Hogan. “This is where people like Senator Ann Rivers can be a major support. The city also owns the dam and the mill ditch, and we can use that to make things move faster. Less red tape.”

Rivers is using her membership on the Legislature’s powerful Ways and Means committee, as well as a member of top four elected leadership, to apply pressure on the agencies that can help resolve this.

Lake
Dozens of stormwater drains empty into Lacamas Lake.

“I have the ability to drive funding that someone with less experience simply will not have,” said Rivers. “There are many grant programs we can use to clean up the lake. I have very good relationships in DC with our federal elected representatives because we partner on issues important to our shared constituency.”

Hogan said once these problems are fully identified and defined, he wants the council to make the Lacamas Lake cleanup “part of our 20-year plan.” 

“We need to make a city process that is closely monitored,” said Hogan. “We need to change the culture so we are monitoring the key elements affecting the water quality.  We have to keep pressure on all agencies to make this happen. The city and the taxpayer owns most of the property now around Lacamas Lake — it’s all inside the city limits now.  Owning the dam and ditch gives us more leverage to clean it up. Most cities don’t have that ability, but we do. We can move water into that ditch and divert the crappy water out of the water system. We want to say to the Department of Ecology ‘we want you to be our partner in this.’”

WSU staff spoke with Wall and they’ve done studies to work to improve the lake quality, as well.

“The cleanup of Lacamas Lake is a very high priority,” said Rivers. “By working with the City of Camas, Department of Ecology, and Department of Natural Resources, I believe that we can get the funding we need and develop a policy that prevents a repeat of this situation so we can make these lakes safer for everyone .”

Hogan said this is going to “be a long, hard fight, but it’ll be worth it.”

Wall expects the inter-local agreement to be completed in the coming weeks, and then it will go to City Council approval.

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Camas Schools Superintendent Addresses At-Home Learning Stages, Scenarios

Camas Superintendent, Dr. Jeff Snell, explains in today’s letter that Camas School District is one of eight Southwest Washington school districts to recommend at-home learning when school resumes for the 2020-21 season:

CSD Families,

We have been working this summer through all of the different scenarios for starting the 2020-21 school year with the goal of having students return to campus in some form. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new recommendations for schools last week which stress the importance of onsite experiences.  I think we all agree how important it is to have our students back on campus.   The CDC also suggests “Administrators should coordinate with local public health officials to stay informed about the status of COVID-19 transmission in their community.” The guidelines also advise us to monitor “COVID-19 transmission rates in the immediate community and in the communities in which students, teachers, and staff live” (CDC, 7/23/20). 

Unfortunately, conditions in our community are not trending in a positive direction.  We have been working with Dr. Melnick, director of Clark County Public Health, as a region to determine the best course of action for schools in our community.  As the numbers of positive COVID-19 cases continue to trend up in our region, it has become clear that the safest way to start the school year is a more robust fully remote learning delivery model.  The growth rate trends need to change in our community before being able to bring students and staff together on campus. Without those changes we risk rapidly spreading the virus between students, staff and throughout our community with the reopening of schools. More detailed information about our current trends in Clark County can be found at Clark County Public Health Novel Coronavirus.

What does this mean for my family?

Over the next four weeks we will refine plans based on this decision and begin communicating specific information to you from your student’s school.   We have taken student, staff, and family feedback from our experience last spring to provide a more robust remote learning experience for students.  

Our hope is to start to transition from full remote learning to a blended delivery model with some version of on campus learning as soon as possible.   The timing for this transition is dependent on regional health indicators.  Our learning delivery models stages are below.

School
www.annrivers.com

Learning Delivery Models Stages

  1. Remote Learning – all student participate in distance learning
  2. Remote Learning transitioning to Blended Learning – students identified through a set of district/school developed criteria in greatest need of additional support participate onsite with in-person instruction.
  3. Blended Learning – all students participate onsite with in-person instruction a minimum of two (2) days a week.  Transition to more on campus days for students as conditions improve.
  4. On Campus Learning – all students and staff participate onsite with in-person instruction five (5) days a week.

What if my student prefers a full online model regardless of the health trends in our county? 

If your preference is a full online model for your student, we have developed the Camas Connect Academy.  This program will not shift through the phases above.  It will stay online throughout the year.  It will operate as a separate school/program within our district with district staff and the same learning standards.  We will provide more information about the Camas Connect Academy in the coming weeks including a Q&A session prior to the enrollment window. 

What if I need emergency childcare during learning delivery models 1 through 3? 

We recognize that each family is in a unique situation and may need support.  We are trying to develop options for families in these situations.  Please contact us using this LINK. 

What if my family relies on school breakfast and/or lunch services?

We will develop a similar process to how we provided these meals in the spring during remote learning.  

We have all been on a rollercoaster ride since early March as we’ve collectively tried to manage through a very different world.  School is a big part of everyone’s lives.  We had hoped to provide you with a return to on campus school this fall.  Our staff is committed to provide the very best educational experience possible for your students no matter what the learning delivery model. It will not be without challenges and there will continue to be opportunities to improve.  We will continue to engage with our public health partners to help determine when we can safely shift to more on campus learning.  

Sincerely,

Jeff Snell

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COVID-19 Effect: Annual Washougal Art Festival Goes Virtual This Summer

Washougal WA — Washougal Arts and Culture Alliance will host an online art festival as an alternative to its annual August event cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic public gathering restrictions. 

“We are very excited that our virtual 2020 Washougal Art Festival will last not just one day, but the entire month of August,” said WACA president, Kelli Rule.  “Our website will be the hub, and from there people will be able to access the festival through our Facebook and Instagram pages.”

The goal of WACA’s art festivals is to create exposure and drive sales for local and regional artists. According to Rule, artists have pushed themselves to create exclusive videos, new and refreshed websites and more to help promote their art in a new way online.  “We hope our community will support these local artisans, hard hit by the cancellation of so many opportunities to sell their art,” Rule said.  “We’ll do our best through social media to give the artists the attention they deserve.  When you purchase original artwork, you are not only buying that object, but you’re investing in that person.”

The event will highlight the work of 25 artists, each selected to participate by a jury of art professionals. 2020 festival artists are Linda Andrews-Riggs, water color; Eric Berlin, porcelain jewelry; Shirley Bishop, fused glass; Jean Blatner, watercolor acrylic; India de Landa, plexiglass acrylic jewelry; Chrissie Forbes, found art & oils, Katy Fenley, silver jewelry; Kyla Rae Friedrichsmeyer, watercolor & ink; Anni Furniss, mixed media; John Furniss, woodworking; Suzanne Grover, pen & colored pencil; Charlene Hale, fused glass; Kellie Kuter, mixed media; Brenda Lindstrom, oil; Beck Lipp, woodworking; Toni McCarthy, jewelry; Diane Moeglein, fused glass; Liz Pike, oil on canvas; Spike Palmer, oil painting; Karen Reule, silver jewelry; Gary Suda & Pamela Hancock, ceramics; Tamra Sheline, watercolor on yupo; Hiroko Stumpf, watercolor & acrylic; Cyndee Starr, mixed media; Barbara Wright, water color, ink, pencil; Jeff Wirth, photography; and Tom West, acrylic, stationery.

Art
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Each year a local artist is selected to create an image for the event poster that reflects Washougal in some way. This year’s poster art of a deer among tall grass was drawn by Washougal artist, Suzanne Grover, a founding member of WACA, whose work will be a part of the virtual festival. Her beautiful spring meadow scene was created from the photography of John Rakestraw.  Signed posters are available for a $20 donation.  There is a limited number of signed posters from previous festivals available as well, which can be purchased directly from WACA by emailing [email protected].

“This year has been hard for artists who have seen so many fairs, festivals and events cancelled,” Rule explained.  “Artists have not been able to meet potential customers face-to-face and we know it is hard for them to make connections.   We hope this virtual event will help in some small way.”

Join the festival at the WACA website http://washougalarts.org/ or  https://www.facebook.com/WashougalArts/, https://www.instagram.com/washougal_arts/.

Art Festival
Washougal Art Festival
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Public Invited to Be Part of ‘The Little Town That Does: These Are Our People …’

Camas, WA — Papermaker Pride, Lara Blair Photography and Lacamas Magazine are working together on a project called “The Little Town That Does: These Are Our People (Let’s Take Care of Them)” as a way to highlight positivity as our community continues to navigate the coronavirus pandemic.

The purpose of this project is to bridge gaps and reduce polarization in a harshly divided world.

“Camas always seems to find its own way through crises,” said Ernie Geigenmiller, Editor & Publisher of Lacamas Magazine. “We did it through the McCleary battle two years ago, avoiding a teacher’s strike, and we can do it again — the Camas Way. We can’t change what’s happening, we can’t suddenly make the pandemic go away, but we can find positive ways to deal with it. And, we also invite our friends in Washougal and Vancouver to participate.”

Lacamas Magazine is inviting people to come in at the 411 Studio in Camas — one or two at a time — to have their photo taken on a white background, and then participate in short interview to discuss resilience, patience, kindness, respect, teamwork, and apply those attributes to working through this pandemic.

The goal is to get about 60 participants, and then show these short videos periodically to gain perspective on how people are managing things. When it’s all done, the objective is to place all these photos on a movie poster and provide some encouragement in the community.

“It’s about telling their stories,” said Geigenmiller. “And having it on the record in photos and videos. What we are going through as humans is painful, yet fascinating.”

The first two town participants are Camas High School seniors Jack Harris and Dave Peddie, who are also champion swimmers.

Peddie addressed patience.

”For me, patience means being proactive,” he said. “Over the last few months there were a lot of things I couldn’t do as far as my swimming went. I couldn’t go into the pool, I couldn’t hit the gym so my friends and I had to find ways to stay fit so we went swimming in the lake and did workouts like running and so really just finding ways to still reach your goals and do what we would usually do with what we have. It’s important.”

Peddie’s short video and photos will be part of the town project, and he, along with Harris, will be part of a movie poster with stills of all the participants.

If you’re interested, please send an email to [email protected] with “Little Town That Does” in the SUBJECT line.

Hope to hear from you!

Town
From left: Dave Peddie and Jack Harris, both Camas High School swimmers.
Town
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COVID-19 Updates: From Clark County, Governor Inslee’s Office

Clark County Public Health reported today that another 37 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 24-hour reporting cycle. To date, 1,717 Clark County residents have tested positive. 

“The current incidence of new COVID-19 cases in Clark County is 96.4 cases per 100,000 residents over 14 days,” the department said in a statement. “The target rate is less than 25 new cases per 100,000 residents.”

Currently, 18 COVID-19 patients and nine persons under investigation (awaiting test results) for COVID-19 are hospitalized. 

Governor Inslee Extends Pause Indefinitely 

Governor Jay Inslee extended the pause on counties seeking to advance to the next phase of the “Safe Start” plan indefinitely. Clark County will remain in Phase 2.

Inslee also provided additional details on the restrictions announced last week. 

Here are some of changes:

  • The changes for weddings and funerals go into effect Aug. 10 (extended from Aug. 6)
  • Outdoor ceremonies (weddings, funerals) are limited to 30 people and at least six feet of physical distancing between households is required. 

Please click on this link for further details: https://www.governor.wa.gov/sites/default/files/Memo%20SafeStart%20Ghanges%207.28.pdf?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

Inslee also provided an update on virus case loads in Yakima County.

“A month ago, Yakima had one of the highest COVID-19 rates in the country,” Inslee said. “Today, they have bent the curve and are one of the few counties in WA heading in the right direction. What changed? They went from 65 percent to 95 percent of people wearing masks.”

COVID-19
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Community Survey: Weigh In On SR500/Everett Road Safety Issues

CAMAS, WA — The public is invited to participate in a survey and weigh in on ways to improve safety on State Route 500, also known as Northeast Everett Street, near Northeast Robinson Road and Northeast 3rd Street, about four miles north of Camas. Rapid growth and development in the area have resulted in increased traffic and run-off-the-road crashes at these two intersections.

To inform future cost-effective improvements to help reduce fatal and serious injury crashes along the corridor, the Washington State Department of Transportation is seeking input from community members, area business and daily users of the corridor. 

The public is invited to provide feedback in the online survey from Monday, July 27, until Friday, August 7. Those interested in participating can also request a hardcopy of the survey by calling 360-905-2076.

Community input is integral to the safety study process. The ideas and comments gathered via the survey will help shape the project design, which is scheduled for construction in summer 2022. The current estimated cost of the project is $2.5 million.

For more information visit the project web page: www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr500/ne-robinson-ne-3rd/home

Economic
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Survey
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Inslee Issues Series of Rollback Orders on Several Businesses Statewide

OLYMPIA — Governor Jay Inslee announced Thursday a series of rollbacks and restrictions on bars, restaurants, fitness centers, weddings and funerals as new confirmed coronavirus cases continue to rise statewide.

Here’s a breakdown of some of the changes:

Weddings and funerals — Effective Aug. 6

  • Receptions are prohibited (ceremonies permitted)
  • Occupancy is limited to 20 percent capacity or 30 people, whichever is less. People must be able to maintain physical distance of six feet.

Restaurants and bars — Effective July 30

  • Alcohol sales must end at 10 pm
  • Table size reduced to five people and total occupancy to 50 percent capacity in phase 3
  • Game areas must close
  • Bars will close indoor service
  • Limiting indoor dining at restaurants to members of the same household. People meeting from different households can still dine outdoors.
  • No indoor service at any bar, brewery, tavern, winery or distillery, regardless of whether food is being served.
  • For counties in the third phase of the four-part plan, restaurant table sizes must be reduced to five people, and indoor occupancy to 50 percent.
  • Restaurants must also close down game areas, such as for video games, pool tables and darts, until their county has reached the fourth phase.

Gyms and fitness centers — Effective July 30

  • Phase 2: Indoor fitness services limited to 5 people (not including trainers and staff)
  • Phase 3: Total occupancy limited to 25 percent capacity

“We do not take these steps lightly,” Inslee said. “We know every prohibition is a challenge for individuals and business owners. But we know that if we fail to act, we will expose thousands of people.”

Inslee
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Secretary of Health John Weisman also announced today new guidance on face mask requirements.

His new order mandates that face coverings are worn in all indoor common areas, not just public spaces. His new mandate includes elevators, hallways, apartment buildings, college dormitories, hotels, motels, universities, assisted-living facilities and adult family homes.

The new mask mandate goes into effect Saturday.

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